NLEX to fine protocol violators
They will either be suspended or fined aside from the penalties coming from the PBA
NLEX will not hesitate to crack the whip on players who will be caught violating the practice protocols set by the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
Road Warriors’ coach Yeng Guiao said aside from the sanctions that would be meted by the league, they would slap separate penalties on players who would be violating health and safety protocols in practices and conditioning sessions.
Guiao admitted that monitoring team activities of their players is very difficult so they have to police themselves and instill discipline among members of the team.
“Monitoring players is very difficult. That’s why we rely a lot of individual’s discipline and sense of responsibility,” Guiao said.
“But maybe one deterrent, at least in our team, is that we are telling them that if they violate the rules and we have evidence, they will be penalized.”
The PBA is inching closer to the resumption of its 45th season after the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases formally issued the green light to resume practices.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said they are just waiting for the completion of swab testing and other procedures before officially starting the clustered trainings of all 10 teams.
And to make sure that nobody would get infected in the duration of practices, the league ordered players to follow the “closed circuit” method, where they will travel only from their houses straight to the practice facility and vice versa.
Only four players, a coach or trainer and a safety officer will be allowed inside the training facility once team workouts begin. Training will also be done by batches.
They will come up with a minimum P5,000 fine for first offenders while those who will violate protocols in practices face P20,000 penalty. The fine will be doubled in succeeding offenses.
Guiao, however, admitted that checking the activities of every player is a massive challenge, especially since teams are not in a “bubble” environment like those in the National Basketball Association.